Four teens and 12 year-old accused of robbery, driving stolen car

ROCHESTER N.Y. – Forty minutes. That’s how long Rochester police spent chasing a stolen car, with six kids in it Tuesday across the city.

Right before the chase, police say the group of kids threatened two men with a hammer, before stealing some of their belongings.

The mayor says it’s a blessing no one was killed. The car was full of kids ranging in age from 12 to 16 and only stopped because police laid down spike strips.

Six kids were riding in the Hyundai Elantra, which had been stolen Tuesday night from southeast Rochester, according to police. Five were charged, the sixth one is not facing charges at this time.

Police say the group of kids pulled up to two men, threatening them with a hammer and then stealing property.

That’s when officers got the call, starting their investigation to track down the car. Once they found it, their attempt to pull it over on Dr. Samuel McCree Way was unsuccessful, sending them into the chase.

The big question many are asking now is why are kids as young as 12, getting involved in these crimes? How do we get them on a better path? We took those questions to Mayor Malik Evans on Wednesday.

“It is often asked, what can government do, here in the city we’re doing our part. We’re arresting perpetrators doing these crimes, that are disrupting people’s lives. Trying to work to make sure indiviudals experiencing hardships of cars stolen, vehicles smashed, not taking anything, we’re doing our part to get these indiviudals off the street and get them help.”

“Theres a larger conversation that needs to happen in our community, about where families and systems play as it relates to these what we call, incidents that ravage our community.”

“We’re going to continue to work with our federal, state and local partners. We get more support from New York State, New York State Police from any other municipality, in terms of the resources she provides for us as it relates to state police,” said Mayor Evans.

“We have to encourage families, if you can’t deal with your child, to reach out for help before it’s too late. We’ve buried numerous young people, treated many gunshot wounds who were related to stolen cars all this year.”

The 12, 13 and 14-year-old were all issued appearance tickets for family court at a later time. Another 13-year-old, and a 16-year-old were sent to the detention center. The 16-year-old had been reported missing by his family, with an outstanding warrant for juvenile delinquency.